1. Character Development

2. The Goals of Character Design In many genres, games structure gameplay around characters Characters should be distinctive and credible Good character design aims to create characters that are: o Compelling and believable o Easy for the player to identify with and care about o Competently constructed – well drawn or well described

3. The Relationship Between Player and Avatar Varies considerably from game to game Factors that influence the relationship include: o Whether the player designed the avatar himself, o If the player can see and hear the avatar, o How the player controls the avatar’s movements

4. Player-Designed Avatar Characters Some games give players considerable freedom to design an avatar to their own specifications The player chooses the avatar’s physical attributes and other details that can directly affect the way the avatar performs The player creates the avatar’s personality

5. Player-Designed Avatar Characters The Lord of the Rings Online gives the player many options for designing his own avatar.

6. Specific and Nonspecific Avatars Nonspecific avatars o The avatar acts as an empty shell for the player to inhabit, so appearance and personality are left unspecified o Very limiting to the designer o Are completely controlled by the player, so they seem like visitors to the world Specific avatars o Games with strong storylines use detailed characters with their own history and personality

7. The Effects of Different Control Mechanisms Direct control o The player steers their avatar through the game world o The player sees the avatar as an extension of himself o The avatar is treated like a puppet or tool of the player

8. The Effects of Different Control Mechanisms Indirect control o The player points to where he wants the avatar to go, and the avatar walks there of its own accord o The player feels more like a disembodied guide than a personal inhabitant of the game world

9. Designing Your Avatar Character How do you want the player to relate to your avatar? Think about how the player will control your avatar: directly or indirectly? The player will see the avatar all the time; it must be a character the player can identify with, and shouldn’t possess qualities that players actively dislike

10. Designing Your Avatar Character Select the characteristics that will achieve your goals for the player-avatar relationship o The more we know about the avatar, the more it becomes differentiated from us o With indirect control, the avatar is distinctly someone else, with a mind of their own o With direct control, the avatar is to some degree an extension of the player

11. Visual Appearances Art-driven character design o Think about a character’s visual appearance first o Works well for simple characters who don’t change much during the course of the game Story-driven character design o Works well for designing characters with complex personalities, and o Characters whose behaviour or appearance change during the course of the game

12. Character Physical Types Characters fall into three general categories: o Humanoids Have human-like characteristics; two arms, two legs, one head o Nonhumanoids Include characters shaped like vehicles or machines, animals, or monsters o Hybrids Include beings such as mermaids or human/machine combinations Art-driven characters are usually exaggerated in various ways to indicate a stereotype

13. Character Physical Types Four of the most common stereotypes are: o Cool characters Never get too upset about anything Often drawn as insouciant when standing still, but their game actions are usually fast and focused o Tough characters Exemplify physical aggression – they are frequently drawn with exaggerated height and bulk Animations are usually big and abrupt, fast moving, and aggressive

14. Character Physical Types Four of the most common stereotypes are: o Cute characters Have a general demeanor of cheerfulness, they usually look innocent and detached Animations usually allow them to achieve things that they physically could not accomplish in the real world o Goofy characters Are seldom upset by anything for long, have slightly odd proportions and funny looking walks and other movements

15. Hypersexualized Characters Hypersexualization is exaggerating the sexual attributes of characters to make them more appealing Avoid hypersexualizing characters because: o They are clichéd, making it hard for players to take your game seriously o It limits your market and seldom adds much o They actively discourage older players, who’ve seen it all before, and female players

16. Clothing, Weapons, Symbolic Objects, and Names People express their personal style through clothing and accessories In a video game, characters’ clothing allows the player to more easily see who is whom Unique identifiers are crucial for avatars A character’s choice of weapons tells a lot about them Transferring a symbolic object can transfer a magical power or status to another character Using names that represent a stereotypical group or ethnicity lends characters a cartoonlike style

17. Color Palette Choose a color palette that reflects character’s attitudes and emotional temperament Use a signature color for the player’s character to keep them visually distinctive Characters can share a palette if the proportions of the colors vary between individuals

18. Sidekicks Allow you to give the player additional moves and other actions that would not be believable in a single character Extend the emotional range of the game by showing the player a character with a different personality from the hero They can give information that the player wouldn’t necessarily get any other way